Morgan Pioneer History Binds Us Together On August 18,1841, their first child, Helen Amelia, was bom. Their second daughter, Annie Elizabeth, was bom on November 6, 1842, and on August 12, 1844, Mary Eliza was bom. She died in 1845. On April 17, 1845, Jesse was ordained a high priest by Parley P. Pratt. On January 20,1846, he began the duties of president of the Eastern States Mission, to replace Samuel Braman who had just taken a boatload of members from New York to California as it was considered easier and less expensive at the time to go by water, instead of across the plains to reach the Rocky Mountains. Jesse was to travel among the eastern branches to take charge, counsel and preside over, and, as soon as possible, to outfit another company to follow Elder Braman, possibly by fall. He prepared circulars with instructions on what to gather and how to prepare for the journey. Conferences were set up in Peterboro, New Hampshire, on May 2nd and 3rd; Boston, Massachusetts, on May 6th; New York, on May 9th and 10th; and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 13th and 14th, 1846, which he would attend. On January 20, 1846, while the Mormon High Council at Nauvoo was considering abandonment and journeying to the Rocky Mountains, the subject of sending an advance company was discussed. There had been talk of the government building block houses and forts along the road to Oregon and the matter was before Congress at the time. It was decided that if the proposition became law, the Mormons might get the contract, as they could do it cheaper due to their peculiar circumstances. In the letter of January 20, 1846, to Jesse, President Brigham Young said, "If our government shall offer any facilities for emigrating to the Western Coast, embrace those facilities, if possible; As a wise and faithful man, take every honorable advantage of the time you can. Let virtue, integrity and truth be your motto." Acting on this advice and before leaving his home in Peterboro, for the scheduled confereces and Washington, he obtained a letter of introduction from John H. Seele, Governor of New Hampshire, to George Boncroft, Secretary of the Navy. While Jesse was addressing the conference in Philadelphia on May 13, Colonel Thomas L. Kane was attracted by the voice earnestly addressing the congregation. He went in and listened. At the end of the meeting, he introduced himself to the speaker and invited Jesse to his home for an interview. A very agreeable and lengthy friendship followed. They met again on the 15th and the 17th, and on May 17, Colonel Kane gave him a letter of introduc tion to the Vice President of the United States, George M. Dallas. Jesse left for Washington on May 21, and arrived on May 22. He called at the White House and obtained an introduction to President James K. Polk, but apparently no business was transacted, as others were there also. On June 1, feeling that he could wait no longer, he wrote a long letter to the Chief Executive in which he made a most eloquent appeal for assistance for the persecuted and scattered Mormon people. He pledged their loyalty to the government and made it known that they did not wish to live in a foreign land (Mexico), if it could be avoided, due to the fact that war had just broken out between the United States and Mexico. Elder Little was a very sincere man and made an impression on President Polk. On June 2, Colonel Kearney was authorized to receive into service as volunteers a few hundred of the Mormons, with a view to conciliate them, attach them to our country and prevent them from taking part against the United States. One can see from the above that President Polk was still skeptical of their loyalty. But even though they were being driven from the confines of their own country into the western desert, they were always loyal to the constitution of their native land. On June 1, 1846, the President met with Jesse. The conversation centered upon the subject of enlisting 500 or more of the Mormon people. President Polk still let it be known that he was skeptical of their loyalty, and did not give a definite answer, or inform Jesse of the Kearney Expedition, which he regarded as a military secret. Colonel Kane met again with the President on June 8, and at 2:00 p.m., the President told Jesse he had instructed the Secretary of War to make out the papers. Jesse left Washington on the 9th. He and Colonel Kane left Philadelphia on June 12,1846, for Council Bluffs, Iowa, where the camp was now arriving. The orders Colonel Kane carried were very different from that hoped for by the authorities of the Church, as they were looking for the opportunity to